The present invention relates to a technique for managing a license of data, such as an application program, for use in a mixing system comprising a plurality of system component apparatus that include a plurality of audio signal processing apparatus. The present invention also relates to a technique for managing a license related to data, such as an application program, for use in a mixing system comprising a plurality of system component apparatus that include a plurality of audio signal processing apparatus.
Heretofore, there have been known digital audio mixers of a type having an effect imparting application program prestored in an internal memory thereof. The prestored application program has to be subjected to license management for purposes like preventing unauthorized use of the application program.
Among the conventionally-known license management techniques for an application program pre-installed in a digital audio mixer is one in accordance with which data of a license (i.e., access key) for authorizing activation of the program to be license-managed is purchased via the Internet and the thus-purchased access key is recorded into an internal memory of the mixer. Namely, according to the conventionally-known license management technique, the purchased one access key is recorded into only one mixer designated as a recording destination, and a permission of use (i.e., license) of the application program is granted only to the mixer having recorded therein the access key. Thus, only the mixer having recorded therein the access key is authorized to execute or activate the application program after getting due authentication of the access key. One example of such a conventionally-known license management technique is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 2005-056216 (hereinafter referred to as “the patent literature”).
With the afore-mentioned conventionally-known technique, however, each access key can be used only in the apparatus (e.g., mixer) having recorded therein the access key, because the access key is intended for use to prevent unauthorized use of the corresponding application program in various apparatus. Therefore, in a case where one application program is to be executed in a plurality of apparatus, a plurality of access keys corresponding to the plurality of apparatus have to be acquired.
For example, in a case where one application program intended for adding one function (e.g., effect processing function) is to be used in a mixing system comprising a console, an engine for performing signal processing on audio signals and an input/output apparatus for inputting and outputting audio signals, the plurality of apparatus (i.e., console, engine and input/output apparatus) perform apparatus-specific application apparatus corresponding to the types of the apparatus so that the plurality of apparatus cooperate to implement one function provided by the one application program. However, even in such a case, the afore-mentioned conventionally-known technique does not allow the plurality of apparatus, constituting the mixing system, to share the one application program, and thus, it is necessary for each of the apparatus to acquire one access key and perform authentication of the acquired access separately from the other apparatus. Therefore, the afore-mentioned conventionally-known technique would present the inconvenience that an operation for authenticating the access keys in a mixing system, comprising a plurality of system component apparatus, is very cumbersome.
Further, the number of types of application programs for use in digital audio mixers has been increasing with development of various technologies. Thus, prestoring, in an internal memory, all application programs to be used in a digital audio mixer is very disadvantageous in terms of cost etc. Therefore, it is desirable to employ a construction which allows a user to add an application program into the mixer as necessary, rather than the construction, as disclosed in the patent literature, where all usable application programs are prestored in the mixer.
However, with the construction which allows a user to add an application program into the mixer as necessary, it is necessary to perform, for each application program to be added, various license management work, such as association (interconnection) between the application program and a license and rearrangement between stored locations of the application program and license. Such various license management work is very cumbersome and time-consuming. For example, in a case where the program and license are acquired through different acquisition routes, such as where the application program is acquired from a storage media like a CD-ROM while the license is purchased via the Internet, the various license management work, such as rearrangement between the stored locations of the application program and the license, would become even more cumbersome.
Furthermore, in a mixing system of a type comprising a console, an engine for performing digital signal processing and an input/output apparatus for inputting and outputting audio signals, adding an application program would disadvantageously require even more time and labor. Namely, because such a mixing system requires apparatus-specific programs corresponding to the types of the apparatus constituting the system, it is necessary to perform, for each of the system component apparatus, to write an apparatus-specific program, acquire a license and perform license management work, such as association (interconnection) between the program and the license etc.